Power Blade began life in Japan as Power Blazer, a Famicom game Taito released on 20 April 1990. Natsume developed it and Taito published it. For North America, where it was at one point called Power Mission, the game was reworked: the levels were overhauled and the cartoon-like robot hero was replaced by NOVA, a figure resembling Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Power Blade came out in North America in March 1991 and in Europe on 23 January 1992. Set in the New Earth colony in 2191, it sends NOVA to recover data tapes from six sectors that can be tackled in any order, armed with a boomerang that can be thrown in eight directions. Kinuyo Yamashita composed the music.
The Western version became the start of a series: Power Blade 2 followed in 1992.123
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | Power Blade | NES | March 1991 | Taito | 3 |
| JP | パワーブレイザーPawā BureizāFamicom; Power Blazer, the version Power Blade was reworked from | NES | Apr 20, 1990 | Taito | 1 |
| EU | Power Blade | NES | Jan 23, 1992 | Taito | 3 |
Also known as: パワーブレイザー JP1Power Blazer JP3Power Mission NA3
Box art by region
NA Power Blade 
EU Power Blade
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.
Version differences
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ContentFamicom (JP) Power BlazerNES (NA/EU) Power Blade
Power Blade is a heavy rework of Power Blazer: every level was overhauled, the stage order and map screen changed, and the cartoon-like robot hero Steve Treiber became NOVA, a figure resembling Arnold Schwarzenegger.3
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GameplayNES (NA/EU)
Power Blade added agents to find in each stage, power-ups for several boomerangs at once, throwing in any direction and a wearable Power Suit, and it tightened the controls.3
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AudioNES (NA/EU)
The Western release has a new title intro and opening theme, a new Player Clear jingle, a new Sector Disarmed theme and new ending music, plus some new or updated sound effects.2
Translations
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English Official
Taito1991NES · Reworked from the Japanese Power BlazerReleased · complete
The English-language NES release, Power Blade, is a reworked version of the Japanese game rather than a straight translation.3
Reception
Most critics liked it: Mean Machines and Official Nintendo Magazine gave 88%, Joystick 89% and Player One 85%, although Total! gave only 49% and Famitsu 23 out of 40. IGN put it 82nd on its 2009 list of the top 100 NES games.3
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
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